Apparatus for controlling the flow of goods



July 14, 1942. c MEYER 2,289,796

I APPARATUS FOR comnomme THE FLOW OF GOODS Filed June 20, 1940 sSheets-Sheet 1 M ATTORNEY C. MEYER July- 14, 1942.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THEHFLOW OF GOODS Filed June 20, 1940 6Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR L nles Meyer BY 572/ ATTORNEY H MNN. QQN I NwN ug M July 14, 1942.

C. MEYER APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF GOODS Filed June 20, 1940e Sheets- Shget 3 mm a mu m E mw Nw mm 11} wr I v M INVIEN'TOR '7Clzanle'q' Meyer v ATTORNEY c. MEYER July 14, 1942.

APPARATUS FOR coumomme THE FLOW OF. GOODS e Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June20, 1940 y INVENTOR hwnles Myer- BY E .IllllllllfafltllI/ll: 4 v vATTORNEY July 14, 1942. v c. MEYER 2,289,796

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF GOODS Filed June 20, 1940 6Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTORNEY WW a k (Mk/5 Myer July 14,1942, c, EYER2,289,796

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF (50613 5 Filed June 20, 1940 eSheets-Shegt e INVENTOR (7uwlesjlfeyer ATTORNEY Patented July 14, 1942arraas'rus FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW or oons Charles Meyer, Yonkers, N.Y., assignor to Bartmann & Bixer Inc., New, York, N. Y., a corporationof New York Application June 20, 1940, Serial No. 341,503

12 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling the nowof a continuous length of pliable material, particularly although notnecessarily in preparation for a manufacturing operation, such as thehemming of curtain material. It is within the contemplation of myinvention to effectuate a lateral stretching or tensioning of the goodswithout interrupting the flow or longitudinal movement thereof. And inthis aspect of my invention it is an object to readily enable the saidtensioning or stretching effect to be varied in magnitude, or entirelyeliminated, or to produce a crowding effect of the material towards themedial portion thereof should that be necessary. a It is also animportant object of my invention to automatically guide or eiTect a,tracking of one or both of the lateral edges of the moving materialalong a predetermined path, so that such/ 20 tracked edges could bedirected along a straight line so as to cause them to pass predeterminedpoints at which manufacturing steps can be performed thereon. Heretoforewhenever it was desired to track an edge of moving material, such as acontinuous length of pliable cloth, it was necessary to employ one ofseveral rather cumbersome procedures, one method involving the carryingof the material over a roller and producing a lateral shifting of theentire roller. Another method has been to place the material in carefulflat folds upon a platform. the edge of the material to be tracked beingcarefully arranged as closely as possible in one vertical plane, andthen moving .the entire platform laterally to make any necessarycorrection. It is within the contemplation of my invention to simplifythe means of tracking a length of moving ma terial by eliminating thenecessity'of any shifting of the entire roller or platform, and enablinga straight-line tracking to be effected by simple It is a furtherimportant object of my inven:

tion to provide photo-electric tracking means where, although the lightsource and the lightsensitive means are on opposite'sides of thematerial, the photo-electric relay will not be actuat- 50 ufacturingoperations on a continuous length of ed even if the material is verysheer or contains many relatively'large interstices. More specifi--cally, it is an objective of this invention to permit even curtainorlace material to operatively sewing devices.

Another very important object of my invention is to enable the aforesaidtracking, and tensioning or stretching operations to he performedsimultaneously so that neither operation affects the other.

It is a further object of my invention to enable a stretchable andpliable material, such as curtain cloth, to be fed into'a hemmingapparatus,

whereby the edge to be hemmed is automatically guided to hem-foldingdevices adapted to perl5 into a selvage cutting machine, and thereafterto carefully guide the cut edge through hem folders and a sewingmachine, the operator being required to feed the free side of the clothacross the sewing table manuallyas fast as the machine rumpled heap. Themanual cutting of the selvage generally results in an uneven edge,requiring considerable skill and caution in the guiding of thematerialthrough the hem-folding and This causes considerable delay,resulting in a relatively high cost for the production of hems; andfurthermore, the manual operation almost always results in uneven hemmededges.-

. hems of various sizes to be automatically produced by a simpleadjusting operation.

A further object offlthis invention is to pro-. vide suitable simplemeans of cutting a selvage at the edge of a curtain and suitablydisposing 40 of same.

It is also 'within the contemplation of my invention to so guide anddirect the material 'as' to enable it to automatically fall-in anorderly and well-arranged manner into a suitable receptable, after themanufacturing operations on the material had been performed.

Another object of my invention is to enable an apparatus of theabove-mentioned eategory, particularly of the type adapted to'periormmanpllable material, to be automatically stopped so as not becausedamage to the material. And in this aspect of my invention it is thefurther object to provide a cut-off device; such as a tresdie. which isfirmly and. securely held-in a dedoes its work. Thereafter the clothfalls into av It is hence one of the objects of this an invention toeliminate the manual or human elepressed or other operative positionwhile the ap paratus is functioning, but which can be released by amechanical or electrical impulse of small magnitude.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings andthe description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a front view of my invention as employed inconjunction withan apparatus for forming hems on a continuous sheet of curtain material.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of. the invention of Figure 1 shown partlyin section. 1

Figure 3 is a schematic side elevation of the invention of Figure 1,analogous to Figure 2, showing the path of the material.

Figure 4 is a partial section of Figure 2 taken substantially along line4-4, showing the clutch arrangement associated with the drivingmechanism and the cut-off treadle.

Figure 5 is a schematic wiring diagram of the electrical circuitassociated with the cut-off treadle.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the apparatus of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the control drum of my invention forsimultaneously spreading or tensioning the material and causing alateral corrective shifting thereof in accordance with actuatingmovements from the tracking mechanism associated with my invention.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary section of Figure 1 taken along line 88,showing an end view of the control drum.

Figure 9 is a vertical section of Figure 2 substantially along line 9-9thereof, showing a pneumatically operated reciprocating pistonoperatively associated with the control drum for imparting continuous-corrective oscillations thereto.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary perspective of the air valve associated withthe structure of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a wiring diagram of the circuit through the two solenoidsand photo-electric cell associated with the structure of Figure 9.

Figure 12 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional plan view of the controldrum taken substantially along line |2-l2 of Figure 1.

Figure 13 is a section of the control drum taken substantially alongline l3--l of Figure 12, part of the section being taken through afastening screw connecting a slide member and a slat on the drum.

Figure 14 is a fragmentary perspective of a slide member operativelyassociated with one of the rods constituting part of the control drum.

' ure 19, showing three other beam-intercepting positions of thematerial.

Figure 23 is a diagrammatic front view of curtain material in theposition shown in Figure 22, the beams of light passing through thematerial being diagrammatically represented by circles, and

Figure 24 is a diagrammatic view, substantially similar to that ofFigure 19, showinga modified arrangement of the photo-electriccombination.

The path of the material 30, as illustrated in the drawings, extendsupwardly from container 3| (Figure 3), aroundand in slidable engagementwith the parallel tensioning bars 32, 33, 34 and 35, and thence aroundthe underside and rear of the control drum 36 with which it ispreferably, although not necessarily, in contact along one-quarter ofits periphery. The material then passes upwardly throughthe-photo-electric de- Figure 15 is an enlarged side sectional view ofFigure 2 taken substantially along line I5l5 of Figure 1, showing thearrangement of selvage and hem-folding units.

Figure 16 is a fragmentary perspective of the lowermost folding bars forproducing the first step in the hem-folding operation.

Figure 17 is a plan view of the fold-forming device of Figure 16 withthe material in operative engagement therewith.

Figure 18 is a semi-diagrammatic sectional plan view taken substantiallyalong line iii-i8 of Figure 1, showing the photo-electric arrangementfor tracking one edge of the material.

Figure 19 is a diagrammatic view of the light source, photo-electriccell," intervening reflectors,

vice 31, over the roller 38, down to the first hemfolding unit 39, upagain to the second and third hem-folders 40 and 4|, respectively,underneath the presser foot 42 of the sewing machine 43, from where thematerial is pulled around rollers 44, 45 and 46, and thence verticallydown to receptacle 41. It should also be noted that after passing thephoto-electric device 31, the material is engaged by a cutter 48 bearingagainst the roller 38, as clearly shown in Figures 1, 6 and 15. Thiscutter removes the selvage 'or marginal portion 49 of the material, apneumatic suction device 50 drawing in the severed portion and directingit out of the path of the material, all in a manner hereinafter to bemore fully explained.

In the form of my invention illustrated, the roller 38 is the actuatingmember which pulls the material 38 upwardly, although this invention isnot limited to/this specific arrangement, inasmuch as other elementswith which the material comes in contact may constitute the mechanismfor operatively moving it through the apparatus.

Actuating roller 38 is provided with a friction surfacing 5i, such asemery cloth, so as to effectuate a secure grip upon the material. Saidroller 38 is mounted upon shaft 52 which extends into gear box 53, andby suitable geared mechanism of a conventional nature and not hereinshown is connected to the toothed clutch element 54 engageable with thecoacting clutch element 55 -said clutch elements being held yieldably inengagement by the spring 56 in conventional manner. operativelyassociated with clutch element 55 is the pulley 51 which is connected bybelt .58 with pulley 59 (Figure 2) on shaft 60 associated with. themotor iii. The clutch parts as shown in Figure 1 are in engagement, butcan be disengaged by an operative manipulation of lever 52 pivotallymounted at 63 of frame 64. The lever 62 contains a retractable pinmechanism 65 adapted to be inserted within two holes 66 in said frame,Figures 1 and 2 showing the pin operatively inserted in one of The saidlever 62 has fixedly associated therewith another lever '61 containing aterminal portion 68 abuttable with pulley 51. Upon a clockwise rotationof lever 62, it is apparent that the said. terminal portion 68 willforce said pulley 51 and the clutch element 55 outwardly against theaction of spring 56, to disengage the clutch. It is thus apparent thatthe actuating roller 38 can accordingly be disconnected by an operativemovement of lever 62.

It also be observed that in fixed relation as aforesaid, the contactlever 69 will be rotatably lifted in a clockwise direction, to breakcontact at 10. The circuit through the leads H is operatively closedwhen contact is made at I; and when such contact is broken, the circuitis opened and the current through lead II is cut off. Such leads are aportion of the circuit operatively associated with driving mechanism forroller 38 or other parts of the apparatus, the electrical connection notbeing shown here in detail inasmuch as it is of a conventional natureand is obvious to anyone skilled in the art.

As the material moves upwardly under the influence of said roller 38, itcomes in contact with the control drum 36 as aforesaid, which drum isaccordingly rotatably actuated by said material. This drum contains twogroups of slats disposed about the periphery of the drum and in parallelrelation to its axis, the slats I2 in the group on the left side of thedrum having their inner ends in'adjustable interlocking engagement withthe corresponding ends of the slats 13 on the right side of the drum.The said slats are preferably covered with a friction surfacing, such asemery cloth, so as toprovide a secure frictional grip being the squirrelcage with parts aiiixed thereto, is capable only of a rotary motion.

. The movement of the slats on the control drum is effected through themedium of the two cam members 85 pivotally mounted at 96 at oppositeends of the control drum. In the preferred arrangement, each side of thecontrol drum is provided with a framework 91 which supports not only thesaid rods 32, 33, 34 and 35, but also the ,vertical shaft 99 upon whichthe said cam mem-.

tion of my invention, contains a bifurcated outer end portion connectedbya pin 99 upon which one of said plungers 95 is pivotally and slidablymounted. -By an arrangement which will be more specifically hereinafterdescribed, the oppositely disposed cam members 5- are,'during the mostcommon condition of operation of my apparatus,

angularly disposed with respect to. each other, so

tween the material and the slats. The internal a0 rods 'I'l constitutesan internal cylindrical squir rel cage over which are disposed theaforesaid slats in a manner to be now described.

Slidably movable over said rods 11 are the slide members I9 eachcomprising two oppositely disposed lugs 89 joined by a longitudinalconnecting portion 8|, each of the lugs containing a hole therein forslidably accommodating. one of ,said rods 11. The arrangement is suchthat each slide member 19 is in slidable engagement with two adjacentrods, each rod extending through oppositely disposed lugs 89 of twoadjacent slide members. The said connecting portion 9| of each slidemember contains a threaded hole 82; and extending through acorresponding hole in each slat is a screw member 33 the shank of whichis in threaded engagement with the walls of hole 82. The head of eachscrew member 83 is disposed within a depression 84 in the slat, so thatno portion of the screw memberextends thereabove. The said slide members19 and screws 94 are arranged in spaced relation longitudinally alongthe control drum, so that for each rod and slat there are a number ofspaced slide members, the particular design illustrated containing four.It is thus apparent that the slats 12 and I3 are held in place about theinner cage by the attachment of screw members 83 to the slide members.19. It is also obvious that the slats I2 and 13 can move in directionsparallel to the axis of the drum, the diameter of the drum throughoutthe length thereof remaining constant and unchanged regardless of themovement of the slats. Regardless of the movement of the slats, the supvan thereof the tube as, and frictionally holding that those of theplungers 95 that are diametrically opposite the pivotal mountings 95 arefarthest removed from each other. when the cam members are in thisposition, an operative rotation of the control drum 39'will cause acorresponding rotation of disk 93 about the fixed sleeve 99 therebycausing those of the slats l2 and 13 farthest removed from the aforesaidpivotal mountings II tobe moved outwardly, whereas those of the slats l2and I3 closest said pivotal mountings have their inner interlocking endsin relatively close relation. In other words, as the control drumrotates, it carries with it the plungers 95, these being guidedoutwardly by the disk rial 39 initially engages the control drum along.

a line relatively close to the pivotal mountings 86 of the cam member,and leaves that portion of the rear of the control drum furthermost fromsaid mountings, it is apparent that the material during its frictionalengagement with the control drum will be stretched ort'ensionedlaterally as it progresses rearwardly and upwardly, thereby eliminatingall folds and creases, and properly, preparing the material forfurther-manufacturing steps. I

The angular positions of thercammembers 95 can be controlled by themaster rod 91 extending parallel to the axis of the control drum andpreferably, although not necessarily, to the rear thereof. Said masterrod can be varied in length; and in the form of my inventionillustrated, this is accomplished by splitting said rod in the center,inserting over the adjacent'ends said tube in predetermined positionsover said control rod 91 through the medium of the set porting structureof the control drum, embodyscrews I99. Each of the cam members 35 isprovided with at least one arm I M which is pivotally attached at I02 tothe said master rod 91. Hence by operatively adjusting the length of rod91, the

relative angular disposition between the cam members 86- can be varied,and the amount of l the spreading movement of the slats 12 and 13 I-nected to the photo-electric means in the manner clearly shown inFigure 11. The photoelectric device 31 is electrically connected byleads I2I to the relay I22 adapted to actuate its armature I23 againstthe action of spring I24. When the relay is not excited by thephoto-electric. cell, the circuit through conductor I26 will be closed,thereby actuating solenoid I20; but when the relay is operativelyactuated by the photo-electric device, it will draw the armature I23 toit, to close the circuit through conductor I26, thereby actuatingsolenoid H9, In this manner the solenoids H9 and I20 are operativelyactuated by the photo-electric means, to cause a of my invention forholding an edge of the material along a straight path. By a certainreciprocating device which will hereinafter be more fully described, rod91 is caused to oscillate in the direction of its length, under theinfluence of the tracking mechanism, thereby imparting to the upwardlymoving material a corrective action, If, for example, the master rod 91is moved to the left, it produces a correspondingcounter-clockwiserotation of the cam members 85 about their respectivemountings 06, thereby causingthe material engaging the control drum toshift laterally to the. left a corresponding distance-this lateralshifting movement constituting the corrective action, as willhereinafter appear. Likewise, upon a movement of the master rod-91 tothe right, a corresponding corrective action will occurin the oppositedirection. And

tensioning action remains unaltered, inasmuch,

as the length of master rod 91 remains unchanged. In other words,regardless of the magnitude of the corrective movement of the slats -onthe control drum, the relative outward spreading movements of the twogroups of slats continue without change whatsoever, the slats farthestremoved from mountings 86 being in their outermost projected positionsthe same amount regardless of the aforesaid corrective movements,inasmuch as the angulardisposition between the two cam members 85remains unchanged. This arrangement hence enables a corrective action tobe continuously imparted to the material without in any way affectingthe predetermined spreading, tensioning or crowding effect of thematerial.

The direct mechanical'connection to the master rod 91 for eilectuatingthe aforesaid oscillations thereof is via the piston rod I03 pivotallyconnected to rod Slat I04. This piston rod constitutes part of apneumatically operated reciprocating device I05 containing a'cylinderI06 in which the piston I01 attached to piston rod I03 reciprocatinglymoves. Extending through the avalls I00 and I09 are the air passagewaysH0 ends of the valve are pivotally connected to armatures H1 and H8 ofsolenoids H9 and I20, respectively. Said solenoids are electricallyconreciprocating movement of the valve 4'. When the valve is in theposition shown in Figure 9, the air will pass from pipe II2 through portH6 and passageway III into the cylinder to cause a movement of thepiston I01 to the right; and when the armature H8 is drawn to the left,it will cause piston II4 to correspondingly moveto the left, resultingin a passage of air through port II5, passageway IIO, into the cylinder,thereby causing the piston I01 to move to the left. It will further beobserved that when air passes into the cylinder through one port III,the opposite port IIO becomes an outlet passageway for the air on theopposite side of the piston, which air enters the region of recess I21of the piston and then out into the atmosphere through port I28. Fromthe above it is evident that the oscillating action of the master rod 91is continuous, and is entirely controlled by the photoelectric device,31.

When material 30 is a curtain or some lacy fabric, or some othermaterial containing interstices or having some light-transmittingproperties, there is always the danger that sufficient light from thelight source of the photo-electric device will penetrate the material tooperatively affect the light-sensitive means. To eliminate thiscondition, I have devised a system where the light beam is reflected byat least two mirrors before reaching the light-sensitive means. Byreferring to Figure 18, the light source I29 is illustrated as directinga beam of light I30 at the mirror I3I from which it is reflected tomirror I32, and from the latter mirror it is reflected through windowI33 to the light-sensitive cell I34. When the line of travel of thematerial 30 is such that the selvage 49 clears the final reflected beamI35, said beam is obviously completely unobstructed and is capable ofdirecting its full energy upon the cell I34. Under these full intensityupon cell I34, the relatively heavy selvage 49 casting a shadow I36 uponthe cell. The cell preferably selected for use with this invention is ofsuch sensitivity that it will not be actuated by this beam of reducedintensity, and the spring I24 (Figure 11) will accordingly retractarmature I23 to close the circuitthrough solenoid I20, which will tendto move the mate rial 30 to the left.

When the material 30 is in the position shown in Figure 20, with theselvage margin completely intercepting the final reflected beam I35, thecell I35 will obviously remain unenergized, to

cause an operative movement of material 39 to the left, as aboveindicated.

When the material 39 is in the position shown in Figure 21, with theselvage 49 passed beyond the final reflected beam I35, it is apparentthat the beam from the light source I29 would have to pass through thesaid selvage portion after being reflected from mirror I3I, and thefinal reflected beam I35 will again have to pass through the material39. The beam from the light source is hence intercepted twice during itscourse .of travel to the cell I34, and its intensity is accordinglysuillciently reduced to prevent the cell from being energized-therebycausing the material 39 to be moved to the left, as aforesaid. If thelight source, however, had been located at the position of mirror I32,it is apparent that the direct beam of light through a diaphanousmaterial might energize cell I34, thereby preventing the correctivemovement of material 39 to the left.

When the material39 had moved to the right asindicated in Figure 22, thebeam I39 from light source I29 will have to penetrate not only theselvage 49, but also the material 39 twice. In other words, thereflected beam of light I31 from mirror I3I, after penetrating selvage49 must penetrate material 39 in order to reach mirror I32, and thenmust again penetrate material 39 in order to reach cell I34. With thearrangement above illustrated, it'has been found thateven anexceedingly, thin and diaphanous material, with relatively largeinterstices, will serve to so reduce the intensity of the beam as torender it incapable of actuating cell I34. By

referring to Figure 23, it will be seen that the beam of light I39intercepts the selvage 49 as indicated, the return'beam I31 beingdiagrammatically shown as being of somewhat reduced intensity, and thefinal reflect-ed beam I35 bein shown of still further reduced intensity.

, The same principle above described can be employed to an extendeddegree as illustrated in Figure 24. Here the light source I29 directsits initial beam I38 against the relatively long mirror I39, the beambeing several times reflected between mirror I39 and oppositely-disposedmirror I49 until the final reflected beam I is receivedby the cell I34.It is apparent thatthis arrangement would be efiective with anexceedingly sheer material, inasmuch as the beam of light would beintercepted several times before finally reaching the cell, so that thefinal beam I4I would be of such reduced intensity as to render itincapable of operatively affecting cell I34. Y

After the material 39 has passed the photos electric /device 31, itpasses over the actuatin roller 38, as aforesaid. In rotatableengagement with an end of said roller is the cutter wheel 48 I which isso positioned as to be in operative engagement with the inner edge ofthe selvage margin 49. Inasmuch as the selvage edge of the material hadbeen tracked along a straight path under the influence of thephoto-electric device 31, cutter 48 will at all times be in the correctposition for cutting oil. the selvage margin. The said cutter wheel 48is rotatably mounted upon a bifurcated arm I42 (Figures 1, 2 and 15)said arm being secured to shaft I43 which is rotatably mounted atbearing I44, the outer extremity of said shaft I43 having securedthereto the lever I45 one extremity of which is normally pulled down byspring I46, whereby the cutter wheel 48 is held in yieldable engagementwith roller 38. The other extremity of lever I is in engagement with thecam lever I 48, so that upon a clockwise rotation of said lever I48 bymanual manipulation lever I45 is moved in a counterclockwise directionagainst the action of spring I46, to ,remove the cutter wheel 48 fromengagement with roller 38. In the construction shown (see Figures 1 and2), the said lever I48,

rotatably mounted at 2I9, contains the hub 2II the underside of whichcontains the cam por-' tion 2I2 engageable with the upper surface oflever I45.

The strip of salvage cut from th material 39 by cutter 48 is directedinto the mouth I49 (Figure 15) forming the inlet portion of air chuteI59. A nozzle I5I extends into said chute I59,

and an air supply pipe I52 is joined to said nozzle. When a stream ofair is introduced through pipe I52 and nozzle 'I5I into the chute, itwill cause a partial vacuum or depression in the' region of mouth I49,causing the' cut selvage edge 49 to be drawn into chute I59 andconducted away to any desired region for disposal.

It should be noted that the end portion of roller 38 in engagement withcutter wheel 48 contains no frictional surfacing thereon, but is rathercomposed of hardened steel adapted to cooperate with the roller forproducing the deform along the entire width of roller 38, therebyeliminating the tendency of the sewing machine to create an uneven flowby its operative pull along one edge of the material. The actuatingroller 38 thus cooperates with the control drum 36 to eflect a suitabletracking of the material.

From roller 38, the material is directed downwardly to the firsthem-folding device 39, which produces a turned up hem I54 (Figure 16),so that it will be conveniently received and further folded by-hemfolders 49 and 4|. The said firste folding device 39 comprises alongitudinally disposed bar I55 containing at its end an upward yextending angularly disposed arm I56. Spaced rearwardly from bar I55 andparallel thereto is the longitudinally extending rear bar I51,containing a downwardly extending branch. I58 in intersecting relationto arm I56 of bar I55. The

underlying engagement with arm I56 and then horizontally into'underlying engagement with branch I58. As the material is moved upwardlyagainst the rear surface of bar I51, the hem I54 is formed, as clearlyshown in Figures 16 and 17. The'bar I51 contains at its extreme left end(Figure 1) slottedportion I59 in engagement with bolt means I69 attachedto the framework of the machine. The arrangement is such that thehemfolding device 39 can be slidably shifted laterally so as to vary thewidth of the hem.

After passing hem-folding" device 39, the hemmed portion I54 of thematerial is passed through folders 49 and 4 I, as aforesaid, whichperform further folding operation's in conventional manner, to produce asuitably folded hem which is thereafter passed under the presser foot 42of sewing machine 46 for the stitching operation. From the machine thematerial is passed into engagement with roller 44, and then upwardlyover rollers 45 and 46 from which it is permitted to drop intoreceptacle 41. 1 I It should be noted that the material has beenprogressively moved upwardly until it attains its highest level atrollers 46 and 46, which have deliberately been made sufliciently highabove receptacle 41 to permit the material 30 to be deposited in neatfolds within said receptacle. The action of material 66 from theelevation of roller 46 will be in pendulum'fashion, the width of thereceptacle being suflicient to accommodate the maximum pendulumamplitude of thematerial depending from roller 46. It has been foundthat the material automatically falls into quite re u lar and even foldswithin said receptacle.

The motor 6I is directly connected by belting 66 to actuating roller 66as aforesaid, by belting correspondingly moved upwardly to cause a de-I" to the sewing machine 43, and by belting I62 to pulley I66 which isconnected through suitable gears (not shown) in gear box I64 to pulleyI66. Said latter pulley is directly connected by belting I66 to upperpulley I61, which is connected by shaft I66 to pulley I69. The latterpulley is connected by belting I16 to pulley 44 and by belting "I topulley 46. It isthus seen that the said motor 6| actuates the system ofrollers 44, 46 and 46, causing a rearward'pull of the material fromthesewing machine 46.

The motor 6I (Figures 2 and 4) is operatively associated with a clutchmechanism I12-which is actuated by the clutch rod I16 attached to thetreadle cut-oil device I14, the operation of which will be hereinafterbriefly set forth. The clutch plate I16 is operatively held infrictional engagement with clutch plate I16 by the spring I11. The saidrod I13 is pivotally attached to the clutch lever I16 preferablyintegral with the sleeve I16 rotatably mounted over shaft I66. Saidsleeve contains an oblique slot I6I in engagement with a pin I62 affixedto the stationary bearing mem ber I83 suitably attached to the frameworkof the machine. The pulley 69 and collar I64 are affixed to shaft I 66,and rotatable therewith. Upon an operative upward movement of rod I16,the

lever I16 will be correspondingly moved upwardly to cause the sleeve I19to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, whereby the walls of the slotI6I will engage the pin I62, resulting in a retraction or rearwardmovement of sleeve I19 away from the motor. Inasmuch as the lever I16 isabuttable with collar I64, this outward movement will cause a slightoutward movement of the shaft I66, thereby drawing the clutch plate I16out of engagement ;with the clutch plate I16. It is thus apparent thatan upward movement of rod I16 will cause a disengagement of the clutch,and accordingly operatively disconnect the pulley 56 and actuatingroller 66 from the motor 6|. When "this occurs, the operative movementof material .66 will cease, inasmuch as it is caused to move under theinfluence of said roller 66.

" The cut-oft device I14 contains a locking mechanism I65 with aconventional electro-magnetically operable retractable bolt I66underlying the oven-hanging lip I61 of locking lever I66. Should therebe a disengagement of bolt I66 and lip I61, the spring I89 anchored atI90 and attached to pivotally mounted lever I9I will urge said lever I9Iupwardly in a clockwise direction. The said lever I9I contains a pin I92in underlying en- 'that the circuit-through locking mechanism I65 willbe closed, thereby causing a retraction of bolt I66, and in this mannerreleasing the mechanism as aforesaid to cause a declutching of themotor. Likewise, upon a depression of foot treadle I96, which is inflxed relation to locking lever I66, said locking lever will be rotatedin acounter-clockwise direction to. release the bolt I66 and operativelycause the transmission mechanism to be declutched, also as aforesaid.

The arrangement is hence such as to permit an immediate stoppage of theflow of the material under certain conditions. r

It is of course understood that other additional forms of apparatus andadaptations of the method of my invention can be employed beyond and inaddition to those hereinbefore described, all within the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:-

1. In an apparatus for controlling the flow of pliable material along apredetermined path, actuating means adapted for engagement with thematerial for continuously moving it in the direction of its length,rotary means in the said path of the material, laterally movablefriction means on said rotary means disposed on each side of the medialportion of said path and adapted to frictionally engage the material,guiding means to laterally move said friction means on both sides ofsaid medial portion a predetermined amount in opposite directions, andoscillating control means to laterally move said friction means onboth'sides of said medial portion a predetermined amount in the samedirection.

2. In;an apparatus for controlling the flow of pliable material along apredetermined path,-

actuating means adapted for engagement with the material forcontinuously moving it in the direction of its length, rotary means inthe said path of the material, laterally movable friction means on saidrotary means disposed on each side of the medialportion of said path andgagement with lever I96 pivotally mounted at adapted to frictionallvengage the material, guiding means to laterally move said friction meansonboth sides of said medial portion a predetermined amount in oppositedirections, oscillating control means to laterally move said frictionmeans on both sides of said medial portion a predetermined amount in thesame direction, light-sensitive means along an edge of saidpredetermined path and adapted for operative association with theadjacent edge of the material, and electro-mechanical means operativelyconnecting said light-sensitive means and said control means.

3. In an apparatus for hemming curtains -'or similar material, actuatingrollers adapted for engagement with the material for continuouslv movingit longitudinally along a predetermined path, rotary means in the saidpath of the ma-- terial, laterally movable friction means on said rotarymeans disposed on each side of the medial portion of saidpath andadapted to frictionally engage the material, guiding means to laterallymove said friction means on'both sides of said medial portion apredetermined amount in opposite directions whereby the engaged materialwill be stretched laterally, oscillating, control means to laterallymove said friction means on both sides of said medial portion in thesame direction, whereby the entire width of the material will becorrespondingly moved to bring a lateral edge thereof on a predeterminedmarginal path, light-sensitive means in the region of said marginal pathadapted for operative association with the said lateral edge of thematerial, electro-mechanical means operatively connecting saidlight-sensitive means and said control means, selvedge cutting means inthe path of said material and at a predetermined distance from saidmarginal path, and hem-folding and hemstitching means at predeterminedpositions within the path of the material.

4. In an apparatus for hemming curtains or similar material, actuatingrollers adapted for engagement with the material for continuously movingit longitudinally along a predetermined path, rotary means in the saidpath of the material, laterally movable friction means on said rotarymeans disposed on each side of the medial portion of said path and aftpted to frictionally engage the material, guiding means to laterallymove said friction means on sides of said medial portion a predeterminedamount in opposite directions whereby the engaged material will bestretched laterally, oscillating, control means to laterally move saidfriction means on both sides of said medial portion in the samedirection, whereby the entire width of the material will becorrespondingly moved to bring a lateral edge positely disposed cammeans will be progressively separated, and adjustable means to maintainsaid diverging cam means in predetermined angular relation, andoscillating means connected to both of said cam means for simultaneouslymoving them in the same direction.

6. In an apparatus for controlling the flow of pliable material, arotatably mounted control drum for laterally stretching the material,comprising two adjacent cylindrical banks of slats with a common axisand of equal and uniform diameters, the slats on one bank being insubstantial alignment with the corresponding slats on the other bank andall slats being movably mounted in parallel relation to said commonaxis; guiding cam means pivotally mounted at opposite ends of the drumand extending in diverging directions from said pivotal mountings,

the outer ends of each bank of slats being'opermost proximate portionsof the oppositely disposed cam means will be in relatively closerelation and the adjacent aligned slats connected thereof on apredetermined marginal path, lightsensitive means in the region of saidmarginal path adapted for operative association with the said lateraledge of the material, electro-mechanical means, operatively connectingsaid light-sensitive means and said control means, one of said rollersbeing adapted to exert a feeding pull on the material away from saidrotary means, said last-mentionedroller containing a.

hardened cutting portion within the path of said material, and a cuttingwheel a predetermined distance from said marginl path and adapted forpressing engagement against said hardened portion for cutting themarginal portion of the material operatively passing therebetween,whereby the material will be provided with a. straight lateral edgesuitable for hemming.

5. In an apparatus for controlling the flow of pliable material, arotatably mounted control drum for laterally stretching the material,comatively connected with the adjacent cam means,

whereby upon an operative rotation of the drum the adjacent alignedslats connected with the with the other more remote portions of the saidoppositely disposed cam means will be progressively separated, means tomaintain said diverging cam means in predetermined angular relation, andoscillating control means for pivotally moving said divergent cam meansin the same direction, whereby both banks of slats will besimultaneously shifted in the same direction without affecting theprogressive separation of the adjacent aligned slats.

7. Inan apparatus for controlling the flow of pliable material, arotatably mounted control drum for laterally stretching the material,comprising two adjacent cylindrical banks of slats with a common axisand of equal and uniform diameters, the slats on one bank being insubstantial alignment with the corresponding slats on the other bank andall slats being movably mounted in parallel relation to said common axs; rotatably mounted divergent disks at opposite ends of the drum,radially movable mem- 'bers disposed about the periphery of each diskand pivotally connected to the outer ends of the slats on the adjacentbank, whereby upon an operative rotation of the drum the adjacentaligned slats connected with the said radially movable members on themost proximate portions of the oppositely disposed disks will be inrelatively close relation and the adjacent aligned slats connected withthe saidmembers on the 5 more remote portions of the disks will beprogressively separated.

8. In anapparatus for controlling the flow of pliable material, arotatably mounted control drum for laterally stretching the material,comprising two adjacent cylindrical banks oi slats with a common axisand of equal and uniform diameters, the slats on one 'bank being insubstantial alignment with the corresponding slats on the other bank andall slats being movably mounted in parallel relation to said commonaxis; rotatably mounted divergent disks at opposite ends of the drum,radially movable members disposed about the periphery of each disk andpivotally connected to the outer ends of the slats on the adjacent bank,whereby upon an operative rotation of the drum the adjacent alignedslats connected with the said radially movable members on the mostproximate portions of the oppositely disposed disks will be inrelatively close relation and the adjacent aligned slats connected withthe said members on the more remote portions of the disks will beprogressively separated, pivotal mountings for said disks, a connectingmember between said disks for maintaining them in predetermined angularrelation, and control means operatively associated with said disks forpivotally moving them a predetermined amount in the same direction,whereby both banks of slats will be simultaneously shifted in the samedirection without affecting the progressive separation of the adjacentaligned slats.

9. In an apparatus for controlling the flow of pliable material, arotatably mounted control drum for laterally stretching the material,comprising a cylindrical cage of rods extending parallel to the axis ofthe drum, a plurality of slide members each being slidably mounted ontwo adjacent rods; rotatably mounted divergent disks at opposite ends ofthe drum, radially movable members disposed about the. periphery of eachdisk and pivotally connected to the outer ends of the slats on theadjacent bank, whereby upon an operative rotation of the drum theadjacent aligned slats connected with the said radially movable memberson the most proximate portions of the oppositely disposed disks will bein relatively close relation and the adjacent aligned slats connectedwith the said members on the more remote portions of the disks will beprogressively separated, pivotal mountings for said disks, andoscillating means connected to both of said disks for simultaneouslymoving them in the same direction.

10. In an apparatus for controlling the flow of pliable material, arotatably mounted control drum for laterally stretching the material,comprising a cylindrical cage of rods extending parallel to the axis ofthe drum, a plurality of slide members each being slidably mounted ontwo adjacent rods; rotatably mounted divergent disks at opposite ends ofthe drum-radially movable members disposed about the periphery of eachdisk and pivotally connected to the outer ends of the slats on theadjacent bank, whereby upon an operative rotation of the drum theadjacent aligned slats connected with the said radially movable memberson the most proximate portions of the oppositely disposed disks will bein relatively close relation and the adjacent aligned slats connectedwith the said members on the be simultaneously shifted in the samedirection,

without affecting the progressive separation of the adjacent alignedslats.

11. In an apapratus for controlling the flow of pliable material, arotatably mounted control drum for laterally stretching the material,comprising two adjacent cylindrical banks of slats with a common axisand of equal and uniform diameters, the slats on one bank being insubstantial alignment with the corresponding slats on the other bank andall slats being movably mounted in parallel relation to said commonaxis; guiding cam means pivotally mounted at opposite ends of the drumand extending in diverging directions from said pivotal mountings,

the outer ends of each bank of slats being operatively connected withthe adjacent cam means, whereby upon an operative rotation of the drumthe adjacent aligned slats connected with the most proximate portions ofthe oppositely disposed cam means will be in relatively close relationand the adjacent aligned slats connected with the other more remoteportions of the said oppositely disposed cam means will be progressivelyseparated, a connecting member between said diverging cam means formaintaining them in predetermined angular relation, a reciprocating rodoperatively associated with said cam means for pivotally moving them apredetermined amount in the same direction, actuating means for saidreciprocating rod, photo-electric means in the path of said material andadapted for operative coaction with anedge thereof, and

